News and Updates for Healthcare Professionals
Benzodiazepine Equivalency Chart
Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Opioids, Opioid Misuse, and Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adults
What's New at AHRQ
Diagnostic Safety in the COVID Era: Let’s Not Squander the Opportunity
[ Read full article ]The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Control Hypertension
Nearly half of U.S. adults have hypertension, or high blood pressure, and only about 1 in 4 of those individuals has their hypertension under control.
Top Chronic Diseases Behind Payer Spending And How to Prevent Them
Chronic diseases are a source of high payer spending, but payers can implement preventive care strategies to lower their expenses and maintain positive patient outcomes.
Chronic Kidney Disease Prevalence Is Higher in Older Adults
Approximately 15% of adults in the United States have chronic kidney disease (CKD). Aging is associated with a decline in kidney function, as estimated by glomerular filtration rate (GFR), even in healthy individuals without CKD. Furthermore, declining kidney function with age occurs faster in people who smoke or have obesity, diabetes, or high blood pressure. Lower GFR is associated with complications, such as heart disease and stroke, kidney failure, and early death.3 Thus, health care providers should pay special attention to a lower GFR when giving medicines (i.e., dosing) that are filtered through the kidneys to older individuals and CKD patients.
New Guidelines Issued on Medical Cannabis for Chronic Pain
Delay or Avoidance of Medical Care Because of COVID-19–Related Concerns — United States, June 2020
Temporary disruptions in routine and nonemergency medical care access and delivery have been observed during periods of considerable community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, medical care delay or avoidance might increase morbidity and mortality risk associated with treatable and preventable health conditions and might contribute to reported excess deaths directly or indirectly related to COVID-19.
The FDA’s Scientific and Regulatory Oversight of Vaccines is Vital to Public Health
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s mission is to protect and promote the public health, both in the U.S. and globally, by ensuring the safety and effectiveness of the products we regulate. Nowhere is this public health mission more evident than in the FDA’s role in the scientific and regulatory oversight of vaccines. One of the agency’s highest priorities is ensuring the quality, safety and effectiveness of vaccines. This deep and abiding commitment is something that we consider essential to engendering the public’s trust in vaccines.